Magic Scores 40 as Lakers Survive Distractions, Pacers

There were more than the usual distractions at the Forum before the Lakers’ 113-108 win over the Indiana Pacers Friday night, and that’s not even counting the full moon, Friday the 13th, the rain, the Laker girls, etc.

First, there was the trade the Lakers made earlier in the day for Mychal Thompson, the big man they have been after for more than a month.

Then, there was the Celtic factor--knowing that Boston was on deck for a nationally televised game Sunday between the teams with the best records in the National Basketball Assn.

Finally, there was the matter of Magic Johnson missing Friday’s pregame shootaround with a sore Achilles’ tendon.

Add that all up, and the Lakers figured to be in trouble against the Pacers and their consensus Rookie of the Year, Chuck Person.

And for nearly 2 1/2 quarters, they were, trailing by five, 69-64, before taking off on a run of 11 straight points, 9 by Johnson.

Oh, yes, Magic played, sore Achilles and all, and scored 40 points to lead the Lakers, who didn’t shake the Pacers until Johnson made two free throws with 12 seconds left, giving the Lakers a five-point lead.

Meanwhile, Person, who arrived here averaging more than 30 points in his last three games, including 42 against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, was held to 17, making just 6 of 19 shots.

“We wanted to play him (Person) straight up and stay home,” said Laker Coach Pat Riley, who gave James Worthy the primary responsibility of containing the former Auburn star.

“We didn’t want to give him much space. He had hit all those three-pointers (eight in a row before Friday), and he doesn’t drive that much, he’s a turn-around jump shooter in the lane.”

Laker guard Michael Cooper acknowledged that a few guys may have been looking ahead to the Celtics.

“There were a couple of us,” he said. “That’s going to be an ultra-elite big game.

“But in the second half, we did a good job of shutting down the people who had gotten them on top--(Wayman) Tisdale and Person.

“This was one we had to work for. This was a good grind game.”

Things ground to a halt for the Pacers in the third quarter, after John Long’s tip-in had given them a 69-64 lead with 5:48 left in the period.

Magic Johnson banked in a five-footer off a drive, was fouled and made the free throw to cut it to 69-67.

On the Lakers’ next possession, John Long stole the ball from James Worthy to start a 3-on-2 break, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar blocked consecutive shots by Long and Person, then fed Magic for a breakaway basket.

Johnson was fouled and made the free throw, and the Lakers led, 70-69. A.C. Green then sneaked behind Person, knocked the ball away to Byron Scott, who fed Johnson for another breakaway layup.

Kurt Rambis followed with another excellent defensive play, blocking a shot by Tisdale, and was fouled in the backcourt by Steve Stipanovich. The free throws made it 75-69, a lead that grew to 10 but never got less than three.

Person got the feeling that the Lakers had Boston on the brain, too.

“I think this is a game we could have taken from them,” said Person, who incidentally missed all three bombs he attempted. “We caught them a couple of days before Boston is going to be here and I think maybe in the back of their minds they were thinking about them.”

Being down by five at the half, however, appeared to re-focus their attention. The Lakers blocked six shots in the third quarter, three by Abdul-Jabbar, and 11 for the game.

“You could tell just how good a team they are by how well they adjust,” said Tisdale, one of six Pacers who scored in double figures. He had 17. Vern Fleming had 19 to lead Indiana.

“They came out in the beginning of the third quarter and played a lot tougher defense. They really got rolling and were tough to stop.”

Which brings us to Sunday, and Boston.

“They’ve buried three opponents in a row,” Riley observed. “They’re on a mission, probably, to make a statement to the league. They’re probably talking sweep (of this eight-game trip), knowing them. Right now, they’re playing the best basketball in the league.”

And look who’s waiting for them.